Hummus

I spent my weekend in Bangalore, with Deepika's family. Deepsy has been one of my closest friends since school, and she was getting engaged. I obviously had to be there for it!

While she was away working on Friday, I spent a lot of time with her younger sister, Surekha. And, we got to talking about many things - caricatures to photos, the River dance to Irish authors, and recipes to cuisines. That's when she asked me about Lebanese food and, specifically, hummus. I love hummus and would recommend it anytime, to anyone.

Surey, if you're reading, this one's for you.

You need -

500gms chickpeas/channa that has been soaked overnight & boiled (drained)

lemon juice from 2 lemons

4 spoons of water

1 teaspoon salt

Half cup tahini (put 50 gms black sesame seeds, few drops of sesame oil, some salt and water in a blender to make tahini paste)

2 cloves garlic—roughly chopped (optional)

Some cumin seeds (optional)

and a blender!

What you have to do -

- Put all items in a blender and blend until you get a smooth paste

- Put in a bowl, and garnish by sprinkling some chilli powder and cumin powder on the top

- Also create a groove in the center and pour a spoon of olive oil (it should look like this)

- Put it in the fridge for a bit, and serve cold!

To complete the meal, serve with -

- Salad: Toss some cucumber, tomatoes and bell peppers in a spoon of olive oil, a dash of lime, some salt and pepper

- Bread: pita, roti, naan or toast

- Falafels

This makes for a healthy and light dinner, but needs some advance shopping and planning.

PS - If you're looking for a good Lebanese platter with fantastic hummus in Hyderabad, I strongly recommend '4 seasons' at either Tolichowki or Kondapur.